Mahjong 21

ABSTRACT

The invention is similar to the Blackjack game and simpler than Mahjong that can be easily learned and played at home among friends or in the Las Vegas type casinos with strangers. The standard 52 poker cards are used. The game can be played by two people up to more than 10 people. Each player is dealt with 2 cards face-down to start the game. Then, each player takes turn to either draw a card from the top of the remaining deck or take the discarded card from the preceding player. The objective is to come up with a 3-card hand of 21 points. A simple logic and choice are made in the anticipation of the 3rd card in order to derive and achieve a winning hand of 21 points before the other players do. The winner collects a fixed bet from a single player or everyone depending on where the winning card comes from. 
     
       
         
               
             
                   
               
                 REFERENCES CITED 
               
                 U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 
               
                   
               
                   
               
               
               
               
               
             
                   
                 7,329,178 
                 Feb. 12, 2008 
                 James Chyvan Moore, 
               
                   
                 11/394,930 
                 Mar. 31, 2006 
                 Lawrence Lambert 
               
                   
                 12/217,713 
                 Jul. 7, 2008 
                 Michael Williams Forster 
               
                   
                 6,398,642 
                 Jun. 4, 2002 
                 Tai-Up Kim 
               
                   
                 7,389,989 
                 Jun. 24, 2008 
                 Hwei-Wen Wayne Hong

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Mahjong originated in China is played by four players. It is a game of skill, strategy and calculation. It is also a game of chance. In Asia, Mahjong is also popularly and leisurely played as a gambling game among friends and house wives. The game is played with a set of some 152 attractive tiles based on the Chinese characters and symbols. Each player begins by drawing thirteen tiles, one after the other. In turn, players draw and discard tiles until they complete a winning hand using the fourteenth drawn tile to form four groups of three tiles each and a pair of two tiles. The winner collects a wager from each player depending on the specific winning hand. It is calculated based on the specific patterns of the four groups of three tiles. Due to the large possible variations (thirteen tiles verse five poker cards, 152 tiles verse 52 poker cards); it takes a long time for the novice to master the game and the wager system. It also takes a comparatively long time to complete one round of the game.

21 or Blackjack is a two-card betting game played with the standard 52 poker cards. The game is played with two or more people where each player bets against the dealer. The dealer can be any one of the player and is assigned the task of shuffling and dealing the cards. Each player is dealt two cards face-down. The dealer's cards have one card face-up. Each player then can pass or request one of more cards in order to achieve a hand with more points than the dealer without going bust (more than 21 points). ‘A’ is assigned 1 or 11 points. ‘2’ to ‘10’ are assigned their face values. T, ‘Q’, and ‘K’ are assigned 10 points each. The dealer has the disadvantage of having one card exposed and the advantage of being the last one to play the hand. The dealer has to get one or more cards till the hand reach at least 17 points. Blackjack is simple to play and is a very popular gambling card game in casinos around the world

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Mahjong 21 combines unique features from the Chinese Mahjong and the Blackjack card game. It uses the standard 52 poker cards, adopts the simple Blackjack point system, and utilizes Mahjong's card drawing scheme. It is still a game of chance but engages the player in a little more thought process and strategy as each one is playing against one another. The game can be played with as many as 10 people or more. Two cards are dealt face-down to each player to start the game. Then, each player takes turn to draw and discard a card till one player achieves a 3-card hand with 21 points. The player has the choice of drawing the card from the top of the remaining deck or getting the discarded card from the preceding player. However, the winning card can come from either the deck or the discarded card from any one of the player in the current round. The amount of bet is fixed at the beginning of the game. If the winning card is from the deck, then every player pays. Otherwise, only the player who discarded the winning card needs to pay. The Mahjong 21 can be played among friends in the privacy of the home or in a Las Vegas type casino environment where total strangers can play together around a table with the House acting as a supervisor. In addition of dealing the cards to the players, the House will also enforce the rules and wager system of the game. For this, the House can collect a percentage of the winning wager at the end of each completed game played. Such services—providing the tables and dealers, handling the exchange of money for gaming chips—are already in place for the poker games offered by the gaming establishments in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

There are eight major drawings used to help in describing this invention. They are explained below:

FIG. 1A-1B shows how the card is dealt with four participating players. Player 1 is dealt the first card face-down followed by Player 2 and so on, clockwise. To show how the cards are played later on, Player 4's card is shown face-up;

FIG. 2 shows that 2 cards are dealt to each player to start the game. To show how the cards are played later on, Player 4's cards are shown face-up;

FIG. 3 shows Player 1 gets a 3rd card from the top of the remaining deck in the middle;

FIG. 4 shows Player 1 discards a card (one of the 3) face-up for all to see;

FIG. 5 shows Player 2 has a winning hand of 21 points after getting the discarded card of ‘JC’ from player 1;

FIG. 6 shows Player 2 gets a 3rd card from the top of the remaining deck in the middle, after Player 1 discarded a card;

FIG. 7 shows Player 4 has a winning hand of 21 points after getting the discarded card of ‘QC’ from player 3. All players' hand are turned face-up to show how they played their hands;

FIG. 8 shows Player 1 with a winning hand of 21 points after drawing ‘AC’ from the top of the remaining deck in the middle;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the event that an independent dealer is not available, the Mahjong 21 is started by a designated player/dealer shuffling the 52 standard poker cards. The jokers are not used. Each player can also take turn to be the dealer. The dealer then throws two dice to determine which player is dealt the first card and later will draw the first card from the remaining deck.

One card is dealt to each player face-down and clockwise (FIG. 1A-1B) until every player has two cards (FIG. 2). Then, the player dealt the first card starts to draw a card from the top of the remaining deck (FIG. 3). With 3 cards in the hand, the player checks if it has 21 points. If it is, the hand is displayed face-up on the table for everyone to see (FIG. 8). A bet is then collected from each player. If it is not, a card is discarded face-up (FIG. 4). ‘A’ is assigned 1 or 11 points. ‘2’ to ‘10’ are assigned their face values. T, ‘Q’, and ‘K’ are assigned 10 points each. ‘A’ and T ('Q′ or ‘K’) are also added up to 21 points. Since the hand is only 2 cards, it does not count as a winning hand.

After the first player discarded a card, the other players will check it against the 2 cards in their hand to see if a winning hand of 21 points can be produced. If it is, the player displays the 2 cards on the table face-up for everyone to see (FIG. 5). A bet is then collected only from the player who discarded the winning card, in this case, the first player. More than one player can produce a winning hand. In that case, the player who discarded the winning card is obliged to pay all the players with the winning hand. If no player claims the discarded card from the first player as the winning hand, the next player, clockwise, can either draw a card from the remaining deck (FIG. 6) or take in this discarded card. Only the next player can take in this discarded card. With 3 cards in the hand, the 2nd player checks if it is the winning hand of 21 points and repeats the process as described above. FIG. 7 shows how player 4 gets a winning hand of 21 points after the other players had each drawn and discarded a card.

If no player comes up with a winning hand after the last card is drawn and discarded from the deck, a new game is started. The basic strategy to achieve a winning hand of 21 points before other players is first to review the 2 cards to see what it needs to reach 21 points. With 3 cards in hand, discard the card that has the least chance to get you 21 points. For example, if the 3 cards are A_Q_(—)9, ‘9’ should be discarded, since any card with a value of ‘10’ will get you 21 points. 

1. A method of playing a game using the standard 52 poker cards where: a) a minimum of 2 players with up to 10 or more players can participate; b) to start the game, each player is dealt with 2 cards face-down; c) the first card is dealt to a player, determined by random dice throw, one card at a time clockwise to each player till all players have 2 cards; d) each player takes turn to either take in the discarded card from the preceding player or draw a card from the top of the remaining deck; e) after 2 cards are dealt to all players, the first player (determined by random dice throw) can only get a card from the top of the remaining deck; f) if the 3-card combination does not add to 21 points, a card is discarded to keep the hand at 2 cards all the time; g) if the 3-card combination does add to 21 points after the card is picked from the deck or is from the discarded card by any player in the current round, the player displays the winning hand on the table face-up for everyone to see and the current game is completed; h) the player with the winning hand of 21 points collects a bet from every player if the winning card is drawn from the deck, else a bet is collected only from the player who discarded the winning card.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising that the 3-card winning hand of 21 points is calculated by adding up the 3 cards based on the following valuation: a) ‘A’—regardless of suits counts as 1 or 11 points; b) ‘K’, ‘Q’, T—regardless of suits counts as 10 points; d) ‘2’ to ‘10’—regardless of suits counts as their face values.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising that if no player comes up with a winning hand of 21 points after the last card is drawn (or is dealt) and discarded from the deck, the cards are shuffled and a new game is started.
 4. The method of claim 1 further comprising that the amount of bet is fixed and agreed upon by all players at the beginning of the game.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising that more than one player can produce a winning hand. In that case, the player who discarded the winning card is obliged to pay all the players with the winning hand.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising that a winning hand of 7-7-7 can entitle the player to collect double to sextuple of the fixed bet due to its difficulty. 